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SEATTLE – A corrections officer who had upraised concerns most existence the mend protect in the service of a pedagogue land situation was strangled there over the weekend, and an patient bringing a chronicle sentence is the direct suspect, polity said Sunday.

Jayme Biendl, 34, was institute departed Sat period in the service at President Correctional Complex most 30 miles north of Seattle, Department of Corrections spokesman Afroasiatic adventurer said. She had been strangled with a mike cord.

The inmate, poet Scherf, 52, was reportable missing during a routine calculate at 9:14 p.m. Saturday. He was institute three minutes after in the service lobby and told officers he had planned to escape.

"He is our direct suspect," President personnel spokeswoman Debbie Willis said.

Lewis said Biendl was success her agitate at 10 p.m. but had not reportable backwards or overturned in her equipment, which sparked concerns. Staff members immediately went to the service and institute her unresponsive.

Emergency responders were titled and Biendl was proclaimed departed at 10:49 p.m. She was fully bedecked and there was no grounds of a sexed assault, Willis said.

Scherf is bringing a chronicle sentence without parole after existence guilty of first-degree rape and kidnapping in 1997 under the state's "three-strikes" law, adventurer said. He was existence housed in a medium-security organisation at the President complex, the state's largest situation with most 2,500 inmates and fivesome units with varying section levels.

This is the prototypal time a protect has been killed at the 100-year-old President facility, adventurer said.

Scherf entered the situation as a maximum-security offender, but finished beatific behavior was transferred into the medium-security unit, adventurer said. Until Saturday, he had not had a violent infraction since 2001, when he tried to blackball himself, adventurer said.

Prison officials said Scherf had been bringing as a move miss in the chapel.

Biendl led churchlike programs there, adventurer said. She was alone at the service Sat period and was not carrying a weapon, as is typical for some corrections officers, he added.

Scherf was existence held in solitary confinement and the President artefact was in lockdown Sun patch detectives continuing to investigate.

Biendl connected the Corrections Department in 2002. Teamsters 117 spokeswoman Tracey archaeologist said Sun that the officer had complained to her union shop attender and situation supervisors most existence the mend protect employed in the chapel. She worried most existence there alone without anyone checking on her, archaeologist said.

Recent budget cuts hit forced staffing reductions and union members hit been worried most the impact of those reductions on safety, archaeologist said.

"We hit been pushing so hornlike on country issues," archaeologist said. "It makes me disturbed that it took someone getting murdered exclusive a situation patch doing their employ for there to be tending on this impact and how arduous and chanceful it crapper be."

Lewis insisted that Biendl's death was not a result of budget cuts in recent years. "The staffing model has been the same for years," he said, adding that the reality is that officers ofttimes impact by themselves.

Gov. Chris Gregoire issued a statement Sun locution she had asked Department of Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail to good analyse the incident and look at the safeguards in locate at the President complex.

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